Accumulated rainfall beyond 'normal'

on 11 March 2016.

Dubai: The UAE on Wednesday saw one of the highest rainfalls it has had in recent years, with a day’s rain in Al Shuwaib equivalent to more than 50 times the average rain the country gets every March over the past decade.

Hours of heavy thunderstorms and torrential rains on Monday, Tuesday, and especially Wednesday, that saw many parts of the country reeling in floodwaters.

One place in particular, drew the most amount of rainfall: Al Shuwaib, a town in Abu Dhabi to the border of Oman, north of Al Ain.

“On Wednesday, the total amount of rainfall was recorded 287.6 mm at Al Shuwaib, which is highest amount of rainfall ever recorded in 24 hours and is above normal,” a forecaster from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) toldGulf News.

If we calculate, the rain collected in Al Shuwaib on Wednesday is 51 times more than the average amount of rainfall the country got in March from 2003 to 2014, figures from NCMS’ Climate Year Report.

Over the course of three days from Monday to Wednesday, Al Shuwaib also recorded a whopping 294.2 mmor 11.58inches — or one foot.